We Are Shinobi
by Unbiased Abyss
Summary: How will the world change when a battle hardened Naruto from the future is sent to the past? With a change of name and appearance, this older Naruto will be given the responsibility to train many familiar faces he knew to be dead as well as to prevent this new world from being destroyed like his own. A rewrite of A Testament of Things that Never Will. Time Travel fic.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

After looking over **A Testament of Things that Never Will**, I came to the conclusion that I had made several mistakes in writing it. After much thought, it became apparent to me that it was impossible to fix these mistakes and as such I have decided to rewrite the story with several changes made to it. The beginning will, admittedly, be very similar to **A Testament** but after the first bit it will change completely. I will be using many ideas from the original story so don't be surprised if you see a character development or a taijutsu that you have seen before.

As for the pairing. I have no idea and I will see how the story plays out.

**-We Are Shinobi-**

Hiruzen watched the procedure with half interest through the one-way glass. He was in the observation room for the operation room that ANBU were taken to when they needed immediate care. The unknown man who had been found in the forest just outside of Konoha was covered in wounds ranging from minor to mortal and the medic-nin were doing their best to save his life. From what a nurse had told him, the man apparently had some form of self-healing ability but they were hesitant to call it a bloodline just yet. Whatever it was, that ability was the only reason he had survived even this long and it was still touch and go.

"Hokage-sama," an exhausted looking medic-nin said as she entered the room. She bowed and handed him a cream-colored folder. "The blood analysis you asked for. None looked at them, per your orders."

While it wasn't uncommon for the old Sarutobi to ask for a blood analysis on unknown shinobi, it was something he did only when the shinobi intrigued him. The man had on the shredded remains of an ANBU uniform and had managed to get very close to Konoha without any patrols noticing, despite his injuries. Yes, this man intrigued him and it was because of that that he wanted as much information, even if it proved to be ultimately useless, on the man that he could get. The blood analysis would tell blood type, chakra affinity and a few other nuggets of information that he could use to puzzle out where the intruder had come from.

He took the folder and said, "Thank you, Keiko-san. You are dismissed and may go home. You look tired."

Keiko, a brown-haired medic-nin, was a cute girl and a damn good medic-nin from what Hiruzen knew of her. She was in her mid-twenties, was short, and her facial features were small, hence why many thought she was cute

"Hai, but before I go," she said, "may I speak freely?"

"I encourage it."

"Just what kind of mission did you send this ANBU on?" she asked heatedly. "I don't mean to be offensive, Hokage-sama, but the only reason this man survived this long was strictly due to the healing ability he has and even that seems to have been stretched to its limit. If he had come in even an hour later he wouldn't have made it this long and to be frank, I don't think he will survive the night even if we manage to get the most severe of his wounds taken care of. The strain his body is under is great and that toll will likely kill him over night."

Hiruzen nodded and filed away the new information that was given to him. He had lied to his shinobi about the man being of Konoha, wanting them to get the man to the operation room as fast as they could carry him. He apologized to his personal guard afterwards but none were shocked by his deception. One didn't live to his age without being cunning and thinking quickly on their feet. He smiled warmly and said, "Keiko-san, you never cease to amaze and humble me."

"Hokage-sama?"

"Your level care for your patients is a uniqueness among your field that I have only seen once before and that was Tsunade-san. Honestly, I know of no other medical personal that attend the funerals of those they only knew by being the one who had worked on them and tried so hard to save their lives."

She blushed and said, "Thank you."

"As for the mission of this ANBU," he said and his tone became a touch more serious but still held a gentleness to it, "you know I can't say anything about it."

She bowed. "I understand, Hokage-sama. Is there anything else you wanted of me before I leave?"

"No, you are free to go and thank you for your hard work," Hiruzen said and gave Keiko a deep bow. He already respected medic-nin but the effort that Keiko had put into saving this man she had never met before deserved an even higher level of his respect.

A small look of shock came over her tired looking face and she bowed back before she left.

Hiruzen opened the folder she brought him and studied the papers inside looking for anything that might tell him who this man was or where he was from. There was the typical information about his blood type, height, and weight but after that things became more interesting. The man had massive chakra coils in his body, indicating that he had a monstrous amount of chakra at his disposal. Hell, the man's coils were bigger than even his and he was a Kage.

The man's chakra type was equally lightning and wind, another curiosity that started to make Hiruzen suspect that this man was possibly from Kumo. He read over a list of injuries and began to understand just how lucky the man was to be alive. The typical list only went to about half a page with only one for two minor things but this man's list spilled well into three pages with the majority of the third being life threatening things.

He about closed the folder when he found another page that surprised him. Apparently the man's blood had matched another's in the Konoha data base. He pulled the sheet out from under the rest of the stack and everything seemed to stop when he saw who the blood had matched to a near one-hundred percent.

He pulsed his chakra to call his ANBU and when they appeared he commanded, "Bring me Inoichi Yamanaka immediately. I will take no excuses."

He looked back to the man on the metal table and considered ending his life at that moment. If the report was true then the consequences of the man being here were more severe than he dared imagine. On the other hand, he could also be a great boon if he was on their side. Hiruzen frowned, his hand moving slightly to the kunai hidden in his robes, his mind racing with possibilities. He moved it back to his side when Inoichi entered the room.

The blood mind-reader bowed and shot off a quick, "Hokage-sama."

"I know you quit the interrogation force two years ago," Hiruzen said, his eyes never leaving the man in the operation room, "but I must call upon you skills now."

"What's the issue?"

Hiruzen explained how the man had been found. He also revealed that the man wasn't one of Konoha's ANBU. "This is why I need you to take me into his mind. We must find out who this man is and if he is a threat. The only reason I have allowed the medical teams to work on him was because he would have died otherwise."

Inoichi nodded slowly. "I don't like it," he said, "but I agree with you we must find out if he is a threat or not. When do you wish to proceed with the mind-walk?"

"Immediately," Hiruzen said. "If he is a friend I will have the medical teams continue their work on him but if he is an enemy I will grant him a swift death."

Inoichi frowned but didn't argue. He understood what had to be done.

Hiruzen and the Yamanaka Head exited the observation room, went down a flight of stairs, and entered the operation room. The smell of blood filled the air and Hiruzen marveled at that. Even during the worst of operations the smell of disinfectant and bleach always beat out the iron smell of blood and it made him wonder just how much of the red liquid had been spilled in the room to do such a thing.

"This will only take a second," he said and made his way to the heavily injured shinobi's head with Inoichi in tow.

The beauty of a mind-walk was that the mind worked faster than the body and one second in the walk would be about three hours in the mind. Inoichi placed a hand on the man's head and his other on Hiruzen's own. The old Sarutobi saw the man concentrate and then he was in a ruined city. There was no blending of colors or gradual reveal. A more inexperienced Yamanaka might have done such a thing but Inoichi wasn't a novice.

"By Kami," Inoichi gasped and Hiruzen could understand why.

They were in a ruined city and the smell of smoke and death hung in the air. Black husks were all that remained of some buildings and others were so badly damaged that he wouldn't dare enter them. The sky was dominated by black clouds that warned of a coming rain and behind them Hiruzen could make out a blood-red sky.

"Never have I seen such a mindscape," Inoichi commented aloud.

"Is it damaged?" Hiruzen asked.

The man shook his head causing his pony-tail to fling around. "No, if it was damaged you would see cracks in the very aspect of reality but there is none of that here." He turned around, taking in everything he saw, and went rigid.

Hiruzen turned around to see what the Yamanaka had seen and he too tensed. There, in the distance, was unmistakably the Hokage Monument. The face of the Shodai Hokage was nothing more than a crater and the part of the Nidaime's with it. Hiruzen's own head had a large scar running down it and the Yondaime's was charred black. There was another face next to the Yondaime's and Hiruzen didn't understand why the face of his student, Tsunade, was on the monument.

The old Sarutobi swallowed and started walking hesitantly toward the cliff and he heard Inoichi follow. Now that he knew that the ruined city was Konoha he could make out the many different buildings that he was familiar with. He could see the husk of the Hokage Tower with half of the top caved in and he could see several shops that he frequented as nothing more than rubble.

They walked several blocks before they reached something that made them both stop, something that wasn't located at this spot in Konoha . In a large area devoid of buildings was a graveyard. The grass was burnt black and there were dozens of rough stones marking the dead that laid below with names that Hiruzen knew on each of them.

Inoichi took a shaky step and pointed to one. "That one has my daughter's name on it," he said with fear and pain evident in his voice. "Who the hell is this person, Hokage-sama?"

"The blood test matched with a person in the Konoha data base," he answered quietly.

Inoichi waited for him to say more but when it became apparent that the old man had said all that he would at the moment he walked to the grave that was marked by his daughter's name. He reached out to touch it but Hiruzen stopped him.

"Is it safe?" the old man asked.

"Y-yes," the Yamanaka head answered. "There are memories stored here and they might answer the question as to who this man is."

Hiruzen let go of Inoichi's hand and when the blonde touched the grave marker the world changed in an instant. There was the same red sky and there were no discernible landmarks in the horizon, just a plain of charred, black earth. In front of the two men was a blonde-haired man who looked distinctly like Minato Namikaze with the only exception being the cloths the man wore. They were the exact same as what the man's whose mind they were in had on.

Hiruzen took a slow step but stopped when his foot hit something. He looked down and saw that it was an arm and he began to notice that the ground was littered with the bodies and parts of humans. Most of the bodies he could identify as samurai but some were clearly shinobi but he couldn't see any hitai-ate to figure out where they were from.

The old man heard Inoichi make a strangled gasp and when Hiruzen looked at him he whispered, "In his arms."

He looked and he saw what made the Yamanaka become emotional. In the arms of the man he looked at earlier was Ino Yamanaka. She was older than the one that he knew by several years but it was easy to see that it was her. She was stunningly beautiful and her eyes were closed. For all intents and purposes she looked like she was sleeping but Hiruzen knew better. This was a memory of her death. To the right of the man who held the Yamanaka girl appeared a man who the Hokage knew well, Kakashi Hatake.

"Naruto," the man said confirming what Hiruzen had read in the blood analysis report, "we have to go. They will be here soon and our forces are in a full retreat."

"I'm the last one now, Kakashi," the man said quietly.

Kakashi placed a hand on the man's shoulder and said, "Naruto, we have to go. We can mourn later but for now we don't have the time."

"She and I were the last of the rookies," the man said.

"Naruto," Kakashi started but paused. "You know what has to be done."

The blonde man didn't move.

"She would want you to do this, Naruto. You know what happens to them if we don't destroy the bodies."

The man called Naruto nodded slowly. He didn't move at first but he eventually gave her one last hug and placed her on the ground. His movements were slow and jerky due to the emotions that he was clearly feeling. He performed a few hand signs and fire flooded out of his hands and consumed the body of Ino Yamanaka.

Just as fast as the memory had started it ended and the two men were back in the graveyard. Hiruzen could hear the Yamanaka head choking back a sob and he couldn't blame the man. Having been on a few mind-walks in his days he knew that memories that were seen with a Yamanaka couldn't be fake because the Yamanaka would know if they were.

"This man is-" Inoichi stopped when another sob reared its head.

"He is Naruto," Hiruzen finished for the man. "He is Naruto-kun."

"That isn't entirely true," a voice said and Hiruzen looked behind him to see the man who they had just seen holding the body of Ino Yamanaka. He wasn't wearing a mask and the old Sarutobi was shocked at how much he looked like his father. His face was lean and handsome but his blue eyes were dark and held a weight that was rarely seen in men his age.

"You...are Naruto?" Hiruzen questioned.

The man smiled softly and tilted his head slightly in acknowledgement. "It is good to see you again, Sarutobi-san."

"Again?" he questioned and the man who calmed to be Naruto gestured toward a gravestone. The name on it caused a chill to go down Hiruzen's spine, it was his own. "Ah," he muttered.

"Just who are you?" Inoichi asked. His face was stained by the tears that had spilled from his eyes and he had a grim look on his face.

The man was silent and moved through the graveyard without looking at either of them. He placed a hand on a stone here and there and his eyes were glazed over as if he was seeing something that neither of them could.

Finally he turned to them and answered, "I am Naruto Uzumaki."

"How is that possible?" Hiruzen asked.

Naruto shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "One moment I was locked in a great battle with the enemy of all mankind and the next moment I am greeted by ghosts of my past taking a walk through my mind."

Hiruzen frowned. The blood analysis said that this man was Naruto, the memories showed things that only a man from another time could know, Inoichi had all but confirmed that the memory wasn't fake with the way he had reacted, and the man, himself, had acknowledge that he was Naruto, a difficult thing to lie about during a mind walk.

Hiruzen came to a conclusion and he might have felt silly if it wasn't so apparent. "You're from the future," he stated.

Inoichi gave him a look of confusion and before he could say something Naruto said, "You really are the Professor, aren't you? Anyone else would have found such an idea ridiculous and disregarded it in a heartbeat but you say it with confidence. I'm not sure but I can guess from seeing you that I am from a possible future that will never be."

The old Sarutobi nodded grimly. "With your appearance in this timeline you have already changed the future in such a way that it would be impossible for whatever future you've seen to ever happen. But then, how are you here? How have you not disappeared due to the paradox that your existence creates?"

"Just because it will never happen in this timeline doesn't mean that it hasn't already happened in another," Naruto answered. "The timeline that I am apparently from is now only a parallel of what will never be in this timeline. I am from a timeline of impossibilities and my presence is a testament of things that never will."

"Parallel," the old Hokage whispered. He considered a few things and said, "Well, that explains that."

"You believe him?" Inoichi asked incredulously.

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow and said, "I don't see a reason not to. All of the evidence suggests that he is Naruto from the future or now a Naruto from a parallel timeline that will never happen. Do you deny what you've seen or your abilities as a Yamanaka?"

"No, but, it's just..." he stopped. He frowned as he visibly struggled to find the words that explained his thoughts.

"Naruto," Hiruzen spoke getting the man's attention, "what of the Kyubi?"

"Kurama?" Naruto questioned. "He's gone, ripped from me a few years ago."

He pointed to the south of the ruined Konoha and Hiruzen could make out a large mountain in the distance. The mountain wasn't there in the real world so it had to be a mental construct and it was destroyed, as if it something had been torn out of the side of it.

"I survived," Naruto continued, "but it was only due to Kurama giving a farewell gift."

"Your healing ability, I presume?"

"Yes.

The old Hokage studied the man in front of him. He radiated confidence and his presence alone inspired respect. "Are you loyal to Konoha?" Hiruzen asked.

"I would give my life for it," the blonde answered.

"I don't know a way of sending you back to your timeline and I'm afraid that it might even be impossible but would you be willing to fight for this one? Would you be willing to fight to prevent whatever happened in your timeline from happening in this one?"

Naruto seemed to think about what was being asked of him and Hiruzen could only marvel at how much he looked like his father. The man that stood before him was nothing more than a stranger but Hiruzen felt like he had known the man all his life. Perhaps it was due to the man knowing the Hiruzen Sarutobi of his timeline or it was because both of them had survived the worst of what the world could give them but whatever the reason the old Sarutobi felt a connection to the man that made him want to trust him.

"I can't guarantee anything as this timeline may be very different from mine," Naruto finally said, "but I would be honored if I could continue the battle as a Konoha shinobi."

"Good. Inoichi," the pony-tailed man looked at him, "what has been discovered here is considered an S-rank secret."

"Hai, Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen turned his eyes on the other blond and said, "As for you, we can't have you running around looking like the Yondaime or the Naruto of this timeline nor can we have you telling others that your name is Naruto Uzumaki."

"Understood," the man said. "I went by the name Yuri Karasu for a period of time when I was being hunted by some shinobi. I can also change my hair color to black with a jutsu. With the dramatic change in hair color, the lack of whisker marks due to not containing Kurama, and the slight physical differences caused by my life in my timeline it should be enough to pass off as just another shinobi."

"That will work," the Hokage said. "Your story will be that you are an ANBU of the hunter-nin division who had returned after a failed hunting attempt of an S-rank missing-nin. You have been reassigned to normal ANBU duties until such a time that you're skills are needed again or you retire from ANBU. I will have to test your skills, of course, but I am going to guess that you will do just fine."

Naruto tilted his head to the side and asked, "Will people really buy that?"

"When someone becomes ANBU all their files become Hokage eyes only. This is only broken when it comes to medical reports but even then the medic-nin that operate on the ANBU are ANBU themselves part of the Medical Division of ANBU. The story will work because there is none who could claim otherwise and of those who could are loyal to me."

"Alright," Naruto said and he looked off into the distance, his eyes glazing over for a second before refocusing. "It appears that I must put my full attention on my healing. I'm not out of the woods yet it seems."

"Then as my first order to you as your Hokage; don't die," Hiruzen commanded.

He nodded to Inoichi who closed his eyes and in a blink of an eye they were back in the operating room.

"Medic-nin, you may continue your work," he ordered. "I want hourly reports on his condition and I want to be notified the moment he wakes up. Anything that is seen or heard in this operating room is considered an S-rank secret, am I understood?"

All of the medic-nin in the room answered at once, "Hai," and returned to their desperate attempts at bring the man back from the brink of death.

As the old Hokage and the Yamanaka head exited the operating room, the Hokage asked, "Are you okay, Inoichi-san?"

"I just...I mean I saw-"

"What you saw was something that will never happen," Hiruzen said. "Your daughter is alive and when you return home you will wrap her in your arms to remind yourself of that."

Inoichi nodded and asked if he could go. Hiruzen dismissed him and turned his thoughts toward what the presence of this Yuri Karasu meant for the future of his world.

**-We Are Shinobi-**

Hiruzen frowned when he read over the report in his hands. The paper detailed the results of the Genin Exam and they were absolutely abysmal. Of the eight teams that had been tested by their potential Jonin-sensei, only one had passed. The newly made, Team Gai, were deserving of their Genin status but Gai stressed that he had only barely passed them.

Passing only one team wouldn't have been that big of an issue if not for the other lesser hidden villages in Konoha passing significantly more. Konoha was the main village and as such it was expected that they would have the most stringent Academy program but apparently that was not the case. The old Sarutobi wasn't sure when the Academy had fallen into such a state of neglect but after looking over the report he decided that something needed to be done.

He placed the paper on his desk and brought his pipe to his mouth and allowed the smoke to enter his lungs. The tobacco, the only vice Hiruzen allowed himself, wasn't necessary for him to concentrate deeply but the familiar actions and the feeling of smoke in his lungs helped.

He thought about the Academy and he called for an ANBU to run to the building to pick up a copy of the curriculum. The Academy was founded by the Nidaime Hokage out of military necessity when young recruits didn't know a thing about shinobi combat save for what their families or a quick training camp had taught them. The lack of a place to grow in the shinobi skills caused many needless deaths during the war and the Nidaime worked to remedy it.

The ANBU returned, ever swift in their duties, and handed a file she held to the old man. He nodded his thanks and returned to his thoughts as he opened the file. The minimal training the Academy provided during the war was enough to save lives, as some knowledge was better than nothing, but curriculum of the Academy was very slow to change with the times and the file he read over only confirmed it.

The students were taught academics, a standard taijutsu style that had been dubbed the 'Academy style', the simple theories about chakra and how to manipulate it, and the theory about genjutsu. His eyes narrowed when he saw that the Academy still taught Kunoichi flower arranging and a few other skills that, while useful for infiltration or deception mission, were not something that a Genin-to-be had to be concerned with.

Nodding his head slowly, he placed the file down. He had an idea on how to fix the Academy situation but he would have to do it in a way that proved, without a doubt, that his new way was far superior to the old way. The old man considered it for a moment and finally came to a decision. He pulsed his chakra slightly and an ANBU, the same one from before, appeared.

"Cat," he said, "would you please find Fox and have him report to me. He is on patrol with his team on the south side of Konoha."

"Hai, Hokage-sama," Cat said and vanished.

As Cat was gathering Fox, Hiruzen busied himself with the paperwork that would have to be done in order for his plan to come to fruition. As he worked an ANBU appeared in his office.

"You needed me, old man?" the ANBU said as he removed his mask revealing a handsome face, black slightly spiky hair, and dull blue eyes.

Hiruzen smirked. "Hai, Yuri-san."

It had been three years since Yuri Karasu had appeared just outside of Konoha. The man had only just survived from his atrocious wounds and spent the next several days recovering. He had joined ANBU soon afterwards, being personally tested by Hiruzen to see if he was capable. It was shortly after he went on his first mission that the man had received a huge amount of praise from his team for his actions during the mission. After a single year he rose to the rank of Taichou and commanded his own team. It had been two years and he had not only never failed a mission but he also never lost a single comrade. There had been several close calls but the team always managed to make it to Konoha in time to save the teammates life. However, despite his track record, he was now needed elsewhere.

"It has come to my attention that the Academy has fallen to an abysmal state. Of the eight teams tested to become Genin, only one passed. That is unacceptable," Hiruzen said as he packed his pipe with new leaf.

Yuri nodded, his eyes set in a serious look.

As soon as the black-haired time-traveler had recovered and it was decided that he would only bring up the future when something was close to happening, he had taken it upon himself to train any and all ANBU who wished to grow stronger. It had started slow but eventually he had had a hand in training over fifty ANBU after the first year. That number only increased until Hiruzen had the man create a training program for the ANBU program. The skills and strength of the teams and individuals increased markedly.

"I would like you to teach at the Academy for a year, Yuri-san," the old man said and took a deep pull from his pipe.

"Come again?" Yuri replied immediately.

He let out a stream of smoke before saying, "You heard me."

"I imagine my time would be better spent elsewhere. While I agree that the Academy could use a tune up it should be a simple thing for any Chunin to do."

Hiruzen nodded. "I agree but you know as well as I that if I push for the Academy to change it's curriculum then the Council will fight it. If there is one thing that the Civilian and Shinobi Councils agree on it is that they don't like change. If I want this thing to stick I will need results to show them how much better the new system is. I will be able to get a trial run in for a single year but if there isn't enough of a difference to justify the increase of the Academy's budget then it will fall through. I have seen the results of the ANBU program and I trust you to do the same to the Academy. Besides, this year should be an interesting one. One that you should be personally invested in."

Yuri's eyes narrowed somewhat but he nodded his head after a moment. "Judging by the year I would say that there are quite a few clan heirs entering their final year of the Academy soon."

"That is what I hear as well," the old man replied with a smirk appearing on his face. "As well as a rather excitable blonde."

The black-haired man glanced to the side, his eyes alight with intelligence and thought. "Do I have your permission to purchase some supplies under the Academy budget?"

"As long as it is within reason, I don't see why not. You will need to buy with twelve students in mind, the other fifteen with be taught in the current Academy way to act as a comparison group."

Yuri nodded. He turned to leave the office, having a lot of planning to do, the old man didn't doubt, when he looked over his shoulder and asked, "And you're sure that I don't have a choice in the matter?"

With a full-blown grin on his face, the Hokage replied, "None, whatsoever."

**-We Are Shinobi-**

Naruto entered the Academy with his signature grin plastered on his face. He had failed the Genin Exam only the week before but he had gotten over the slight depression after the second day. On the third, he was back on the training fields working on his skills and he had made a mad amount of progress in the past few days. He had received a note in the mail about which classroom he would be in and the other boring stuff that the Academy sensei thought was important. The only thing that he had noticed that made him a little sad was that his sensei wasn't Iruka but some guy named Yuri Karasu and while he would miss his old sensei who he shared a bowl of ramen with from time to time he guessed that he would just have to seek the man out for a bowl now.

Almost skipping down the hall, the blonde looked for his new classroom, room 127. He found it after a few minutes and entered the room. The room was the exact same as any Academy classroom: raised floor for desks to allow for the students to see the sensei without trying to look over another students head, the open floor between the desks and the sensei's desk that allowed for students to practice jutsu and other skills, and, finally, the wooden floor on which the sensei's desk sat with a massive chalkboard behind it.

He glanced to the seats, sticking his tongue out a little as he concentrated on which seat he wanted. A few students were already seated and he recognized each of them. Shino Aburame was in the back, Hinata Hyuga, who turned red for some reason when he looked at her, sat in the middle back, and Sasuke Uchiha, the final person in the room, was one row in front of Hinata. Naruto scrunched up his face and took a seat in the first row, right in front of Sasuke. He vowed that he would beat the teme this year and he would start by sitting closer to the front than him.

Slowly, other people entered the room and picked their seats until the clock on the wall above the door struck eight. Naruto frowned. He had been in the room for fifteen minutes, the time

Iruka typically was in the classroom, but he hadn't seen any sign of their new sensei. He looked over his shoulder and counted eleven others, far fewer than had been in the class the previous year.

Soon enough others in the class started to talk until a dull roar filled the room. Ten minutes went by and the talking only got louder and Naruto found himself also joining the confused conversation about where their sensei might be. Suddenly a dark feeling came over the room and all the noise stopped. It was sickening and the blond felt himself beginning to tremble in unbridled fear. His eyes wide, it was all he could do to pull in a breath of air and his heart beat painfully in his chest.

Then it was gone. A frightened silence took the place of talking and Naruto swallowed loudly as he worked to calm his heart. A man appeared, sitting at the large desk that belonged to the sensei of the class, and started to speak but Naruto found that he couldn't understand him, his residual fear pounding in his head. Suddenly, an odd feeling came over him and his fear dissipated. He looked to the man and studied him.

The man's height was difficult to tell due to him sitting at the desk but Naruto could safely say that he was tall, had spiky black hair, and his eyes were the color of storm clouds. Of the clothing that he could see the man wore a black leather vest, leaving his toned arms exposed to the world, and black fingerless gloves.

Wondering what that feeling was, Naruto rose from his chair and yelled, "Hey you! What was that?"

**-We Are Shinobi-**

_Special Note_: I am accepting 3 OC for this story. Please, see my profile for more information.

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>-Unbiased Abyss<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

**-We Are Shinobi-**

Yuri looked over the group of Academy students and while his face was schooled into a blank look his mind was a whirl of emotions and thoughts. All of the people in the room had died in his timeline. Over the last three years he had done his best to stay away from any and all that he knew from his timeline, with the only exception being Hiruzen Sarutobi. He had done so, he admitted to himself, because he was scared of how he would react. The people in the room made up some of his best friends and many of them died before his eyes.

He had spent the last week before the year long classes at the Academy started again preparing his new curriculum and his mind for the shock of seeing the ghosts of all his friends. He had sat at his chair for thirty minutes, watching the Academy students come in, their faces tormenting him with memories of both better times and death. A minor Genjutsu that tricked the mind into thinking that he wasn't there and the repressing of his chakra was all it took for him to watch the class until all his students were there. It was with a weary breath and the stealing of his mind that he sent out his killing intent and unraveled the jutsu.

Needless to say, the results were sudden. All conversations stopped and several of the kids looked like they would vomit or worse if he continued it for more than a few seconds. Not wanting to miss a potential teaching moment, he cut off his killing intent and explained what it was and finally introduced himself.

The looks on all the kids faces was that of shock and no small amount of fear. He sighed and pulsed his chakra, instantly the vast majority of their fear left them and they slowly focused on him.

He rubbed his temple and whispered, "What the hell have you gotten me into, old man?"

"Hey you," a blonde midget yelled from the front row of the classroom. "What was that?"

Yuri smirked. It would be just like his younger self to make an outburst after something like that. "I assume none of you heard my explanation?"

The class was filled with nodding heads and blank stares.

"That was called killing intent," he said and repeated his explanation. "Killing intent is a special type of Genjutsu that is generated when a shinobi or any person pushes their intent to kill another ino their chakra and then bursts it out. Unlike most Genjustu, killing intent can't be dispelled by the normal pulsing of chakra but by countering with your own killing intent or by the disruption of another's chakra in your system. These two methods can also be used to dispel other Genjutsu as well."

When he finished he looked directly at his younger self and said, "And I am Yuri Karasu, your sensei. You may call me Yuri-sensei."

"You're late!" Naruto Uzumaki hollered.

A fist connected with the boys head and Yuri looked above the boy to see an irate Sakura

Haruno leaning over her desk. "Shut up, dobe! Do you want to make us look bad on the first day of class?" she, much to Yuri's displeasure, also yelled.

"Haruno-san," Yuri said, his voice icy. "while you are around me you will not insult Uzumaki-san or any of your classmates in such a way. To insult someone is feeble, simple-minded, and unbecoming of a kunoichi. Uzumaki-san is someone who you may have to entrust your life to in the future and the least you can do is show him some respect."

He turned to Naruto and said, "As for my being late, I was here before everyone." The blond opened his mouth to argue but a raised hand from Yuri stopped him. "I was hidden under a Genjutsu that, apparently, none of you were able to detect. I also suppressed my chakra for those of you in the room that have the minor ability to detect it."

"But I didn't even smell you," Kiba Inuzuka expressed.

"I am a Jonin, Inuzuka-san. I know several ways to hide my sent." He looked around and asked, "Any other questions?" When he was satisfied that there weren't any he continued, "Today is the first day of this class's final year in the Academy. After this you all will either become Genin or civilians depending on whether you pass or fail your Genin Exam. If I am going to teach you all to the best of my abilities I am going to need each of you to put your utmost into your training and work harder than you have in your previous years. That is why I will be testing each of you to see where you are at so that I know where I have to start."

He placed his hand on a neat stack of papers on his desk and said, "We will start with a written test. This will cover history, science, mathematics, and chakra theory among other things."

A loud groan came from the front of the room. "Why do we have to learn that stuff?" Naruto moaned. "It is so boring and when am I ever going to use stuff like history during a mission."

"'Learn from the past so that you don't repeat the mistakes.' Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage, said that, " Yuri said. "You have and will continue to learn the history of not only Konoha but also Iwa, Kumo, Kiri, and Suna because you can use that information in many different situations. When visiting these countries you will know their customs and will be able to demonstrate the proper respect. Another use is that if you ever fight a shinobi from these areas you will be familiar with their potential tactics and be able to plan or fight accordingly. Did you want to ask about why you learn about the other things?"

The young blonde pouted and several of his classmates started to chuckle at his actions.

"Now then," the Jonin said as he rose from his desk, "I will pass out the tests. When you have finished, bring it to the front and I will tell you what I would like you to do next."

**-We Are Shinobi-**

Yuri frowned for what must have been the hundredth time since he started going over the information he had gathered on his Academy class. He had forgotten how...bad Academy students were and with the results of the many different physical tests he had done with them combined with the results of the written tests they were worse than he had feared.

Needless to say, he would have to do his best to bring their physical poweresses to a higher level, that meant that he had made the right call in having a few of his clones spend the better part of a day working on placing gravity seals on small black bands that would be worn around both wrists and ankles. The seal was complicated but no where near as complex as one that was placed on a person. The results were also vastly different. The seal placed on a person evenly distributed the increase in weight over the entire body while the one on the bands only increase the weight of the bands. He had also made twelve cloth bands that would go around the chest, right on the rib cage below a woman's bust. The cloth bands had the same seal placed on them but mainly helped with the distribution of the weight.

He had also purchased food required for a nutritious drink that he would force...have the kids drink after they worked out.

He scratched his head and added a few things to the rather lengthy list of things that he would find time to teach his students. He sighed and stood from his spot on the floor. He looked around at all the papers and scrolls scattered around the white carpet and he didn't remember placing any of them on his crimson colored couch but he evidently had since the cushions were covered in neat stacks.

Yuri shook his head and left his living room through the solid wood door that lead to his backyard. To call it a backyard was a stretch at best and a total lie at worst. With the many missions he did while he was in the ANBU he had gathered a fair amount of money. He used it to buy something he had always dreamed about, a home. Not an apartment or a small home in the middle of Konoha, but a home surrounded by trees with a small river flowing through front yard.

As it was he got just that and while it had cost him quite a bit, the old man had helped with it, seeing as Yuri had never been paid for his help with revamping the ANBU program. As it was, his home was actually built at a curve in the river and the water ran around the front of his home to the back to form a large lake a little ways off. He had boughten a large amount of land around his home and let nature take its course. A fence circled his front yard and attached to the back of the house making the front and two side yards separated from the rest of the wilds.

The backyard, however, was completely different. He took a step off his deck and entered the training ground he had made his yard into. It was a simple thing but not many could boast that they had a private training ground on their property. He smirked, about the only ones who did were large clans like the Yamanaka or the Hyuga. He had worked hard to clear the trees for the field and maintained the treeline diligently. He glanced at the quaint one story home and smiled. It wasn't overly big and it sutten his needs just fine. He had lived in the building for only a few days but it already had the feeling of a home.

He turned back to his training ground and walked toward the center. He had done as much planning as he was going to be able to, now it was all up to the determination of his students.

**-We Are Shinobi-**

Yuri leaned against his desk and watched as the last few stragglers of his class ran in. Naruto only just made it and it caused a smile to threaten to make itself known on Yuri's face. He had forgotten what he was like when he was younger, how innocent and naive he was, but the Naruto he was looking at was not him, clearly since he was himself.

The clock hit eight and he started his class.

"Good morning class," he said. "I have the results of the tests that you all took yesterday and I can only really say one thing," he paused, "you should all quite right here, right now."

There was a collective gasp and even Shikamaru Nara rose an eyebrow at the statement.

"That's bullshit!" Kiba almost literally barked.

Naruto jump up from his chair, screaming, "You can't say that!

Finding it effective the first time, Yuri unleashed a small amount of killing intent and the class silenced again. He pulsed his chakra and when all of his students were focused on him he said, "I'm not sure how you were taught these previous years but I am going to be very blunt in saying that each of you have a very long ways to go before you are ready for the life of a shinobi. I have only been with each of you for about three hours now and I can tell you that there are some serious issues involving confidence, motivation, and respect that I think are just about impossible to fix."

He eyed each of his students, almost daring them to question him. "If you all want to survive the life of a shinobi then you will have to give the training that I will be putting you through your absolute all. I grew up in a minor village in Konoha and attended the Academy that was there. I made many friends during that time and finally graduated and became a Genin. It has been thirteen years since then and I am the last of my graduating class alive. All of my old friends...are dead."

The room was deathly silent and even Naruto and Kiba had a reserved looks on their faces.

"I do not tell you this to gain your sympathy as I do not want it," Yuri said and his eyes softened slightly. "I tell you this to express how serious the life of a shinobi is. I have created a training program that will prepare all of you for the life of a Genin to a point that I have deemed adequate. I will push all of you to your limits and I expect each of you to push yourselves as well. I don't want any of you to have to bury a friend."

The black-haired Jonin studied the results of his speech. Many of the Genin seemed to have a bit more determination in their eyes and he noticed that several of them seemed to have pity in their eyes as well. If his speech caused the Academy students to at least take their studies more seriously than he didn't mind the temporary pity that some of them might give him.

"Now," he said, "I will explain how your days will go for the next several months. We have seven hours to work each day and I have planned for each hour. The first hour of every day will be spent working your bodies physically. We will do this by a series of exercises that will change every day of the week and be repeated the next week." He waved to a small table that held the black bracelets and cloth bands he had made previously and explained, "Each of you will wear these. They are my version of training weights. When you put them on, one on each ankle, wrist, and the larger band around your torso here," he indicated the spot he meant, "I want you to push some chakra into them. This will increase the weight of the bands and will help you build your physical strength, speed, endurance, and stamina to only name a few things."

"The second hour will be spent doing yoga and stretching. This will increase your flexibility, agility, and balance. Also, while you are performing the exercises you will each be holding a leaf to your foreheads with your chakra to train your ability to concentrate and focus. During the third hour I will be training each of you in taijutsu. I will work with each of you individually and, in some cases, be teaching you a form of taijutsu that I believe is best suited for you."

Sakura's hand shot up when he stopped to collect his thoughts and he nodded toward her. She cleared her voice and said, "How are you going to teach each of us? I don't mean to point out the obvious but there are twelve of us and one of you."

Yuri nodded. "A fine question," he replied. "I will teach each of you using this." Out of nowhere another him appeared next to him.

"A bushin?" Ino questioned.

"How is that going to help?" Sakura questioned.

"Ah, but this isn't a bushin," Yuri said.

The clone stepped forward and said, "I am a kage bushin. This is a special jutsu that allows me to create a solid clone that can think and act independent of my original person. After I have worked with you I will dispel and all the memories that I gain will be sent to the original."

"In other words," Yuri took up the train of thought from his clone, "I will be effectively teaching each of you without any loss to my ability to teach. Does that answer your question, Haruno-san?"

The pinkette nodded, her eyes wide in wonder and shock. That didn't surprise Yuri in the least as the kage bushin was a kinjutsu and the only clone jutsu in the Elemental Nations that allowed for the transfer of knowledge. More than likely, none of the Genin had heard of such a jutsu.

"Excellent. The fourth hour will be spent meditating. I will, hopefully, be teaching you three stages to meditation. The first stage is the hardest of the three and I wouldn't be surprised if we spent the better part six months working on it. Meditation is something that many shinobi forget about in their daily trainings but I find that it is essential. Can anyone take a guess as to why?"

He looked around and none of his students raise their hands. He was just about to answer the question himself when the delicate hand of the pinkette rose. He smiled, the first time he had done so in front of his class, and nodded to her.

She blushed slightly and answered, "It allows us to focus and relax."

"A very good answer and partially right," he said. "Meditation, if done correctly, does help with focus and allows the individual to relax but it also helps increase chakra capacity. Chakra is the molding of physical energy and spiritual or mental energy. While I have each of you working your bodies, think of meditation as exercising your minds.

"Speaking of chakra, the fifth hour will be spent working on chakra control. I will explain this when we get to it. The sixth hour will be our lecture time. During this time I will speak about history, geography, and anything that I deem important for you to know. The final hour of the day will be spent doing miscellaneous training that doesn't fit anywhere else in the day. After the seventh hour you are all dismissed but if you wish to have more training or to work on something that is bothering or frustrating you, then you are welcome to stay and I will work with you. Any questions?"

None of the Genin moved and Yuri said, "I understand that that was a lot of information to take in but you all will get used to our schedule and if each of you work your hardest I promise that you will graduate from this Academy prepared for the world of shinobi." He clapped his hands together and said, "Now then, outside everyone, time to exercise. Please grab a set of weight bands before you leave. Girls may place on the chest band in the classroom. Boys, out."

The class filed out of the classroom, Kiba and Naruto hollering and jumping around. Apparently they were excited at the prospect of the tortu-physical exercises that Yuri had planned. That or the idea of becoming strong shinobi.

"Yuri-sensei," a soft voice said and he looked down to see Ino and Sakura standing in front of him.

"Did you need something, Haruno-san, Yamanaka-san?" he asked.

"Well," Ino started to say as she rubbed one of her arms, "we wanted to say that we are sorry, about your loss we mean."

"She means," Sakura said and took up the slack of the conversation, "that we are sorry about your friends."

A soft smile graced Yuri's face and he replied, "You have nothing to be sorry about. I have come to accept the loss of my friends and am at peace with it. But, I do thank you for your caring about me. Now, we can't keep the rest of the class waiting."

He turned to the door and started walking toward it. What he didn't say was that their words hit him deeper than he was ready for. Sakura, his Sakura, had died fighting Sasuke, a sword stabbed through her gut. She had apologized to him for all the mean things she had done as she bled out in his arms. She was one of the many friends his weakness had killed. Ino and him had been the last of the rookie eleven and they had bonded during the time before she died. He very well may have developed feelings for her but she died before he could explore them further. Needless to say, he had lied to this timeline's Ino and Sakura as he had not forgiven himself for being the last of his friends to survive the war.

He shook his head as he exited the classroom and waited for the girls to come out. He wasn't surprised in the least when Hinata was the last to exit the classroom. She had always been shy and under-confident and it seemed that it was something that he would have to deal with in this timeline if the girl wanted any chance of surviving.

After some instructing on Yuri's part, the Academy students finally arranged themselves into an organized group with enough space around each of them that they didn't bother the individuals next to them. Yuri watched with a critical eye as his students worked through the motions of the different exercises his clone showed them. Whenever he saw a student do something wrong he was quick to correct them and a hint of amusement put a little bit of a bounce in his steps when some of the kids started to complain. They were only twenty minutes in of the hour long routine and he had to suppress a grin least some of the kids started to think he enjoyed seeing them in pain.

When the rest of the time came and went, Yuri called out, "We are done with physical exercises for the day. Good effort everyone."

His words had an immediate effect when all of his students, even the stubborn Uchiha, flopped onto the floor. This time he did smile and busied himself as he took a scroll from his kunai pouch. Unrolling it, he unsealed twelve different bottles, each filled with a green liquid. Waving his clone over, he and his clone handed out the drinks and it was a certain blonde who was the first to express his thoughts on the drink.

"This is disgusting!" Naruto yelled and stuck his tongue out.

Yuri started to chuckle, partially because of Naruto's outburst but mostly because of the faces his other students made after their first taste of the green liquid. "I understand that it isn't the most pleasant thing to drink but I am requiring each of you to drink it before we move on to the next lesson. The drink is filled with vitamins, minerals, and other valuable nutrients that your body will need to repair and strengthen your muscles. I am having you all drink it now because the best time to take in such nutrients is immediately after you have worked out. Now, drink up and fill those bottles with water when you're done."

The kids did as they were told, some pinching their noses as the gulped down the liquid. Some drank it in single large mouthfuls before going back for more and others, like Naruto, downed it in one go. Regardless, five minutes later each of his students had their bottles refilled with water and were back in their original spots.

"We will now be moving on to some yoga and stretching exercises," the Jonin said loud enough for the group to hear. "Yoga is about focus and concentration, this is why I will be pairing it with the leaf concentration exercise." He took a leaf he had in his pocket and placed it on his forehead where it stuck. "It will be difficult and may take a few weeks before you are able to keep the leaf stuck to your forehead for the entire time so do not get frustrated. If you do, it will only make the exercise more difficult. Now, please go get a leaf so that we may begin."

The next hour was filled with a humorous amount of bad posture and positioning that Yuri had to correct, a fair bit of whispered curses, and the constant sound of his calm voice instructing the Academy students when to move to the next position and when to breath in and out. Leafs fell every few seconds and he praised his class when they managed to get through a five minute period without anyone losing their leaf.

The hour came to an end and Yuri created eleven kage bushin that appeared behind him. "Very good, class. We will now be working on taijutsu. This first day will be a more intensive testing of your capabilities with my clones watching you as you work through your katas. Tomorrow will mark the beginning of your real taijutsu training. Each clone took a student and Yuri ended up with Naruto himself.

"Alright, Uzumaki-san," he said, "show me your katas for your taijutsu."

"Hai, Yuri-sensei!" the boy called and entered his starting stance.

The first thing that Yuri noticed was that the boy's stance was all wrong but he allowed the blonde to continue. Yuri could only just remember his Academy days and, if he remembered correctly, he had been taught how to perform the Academy Style all wrong. Mizuki had worked hard to sabotage his abilities. Thinking of the man reminded Yuri of the Forbidden Scroll incident and he wondered if it would even happen this time around. Last time it had happened after this year when he had failed for the third and final time but with the things that had changed he wasn't sure if it would. He had spoken about it to the old Hokage but the man didn't say much about it, only that he would look into it.

Yuri focused his attention back onto Naruto as he moved through his katas and after a hideous kick that might have pulled a muscle he raised his hand. "Stop, Uzumaki-san."

The boy stopped, a goofy grin on his face. "Pretty good right? I worked really hard at it and Mizuki-sensei said that if I mastered that taijutsu then it would go a long way in helping me become Hokage."

The Jonin was silent for a few moments before saying, "That was among the most atrocious display of taijutsu that I have ever seen." Naruto's face dropped into a frown and anger flashed in his eyes. Despite the anger, Yuri continued his destruction of the abomination he had witnessed. "A large amount of the attacks placed you off balance and created openings that a toddler could hit, the distribution of your weight took away your ability to put all your strength into your attacks, and you have absolutely no footwork that would allow you to out maneuver your opponent. Who ever taught you that taijutsu either had no idea what they were doing or was a fool to the highest degree."

Naruto growled and snapped, "What would you know, idiot?"

Yuri's eyes took on a serious edge and he didn't need to expel any killing intent for the boy to regret his words. "While I am teaching you, Uzumaki-san, you will refer to me as Yuri-sensei. It seems that I not only have to teach you a new taijutsu but I also must teach you how to properly act as a shinobi. I don't know how any of your other senseis taught you or if they simply just put up with your attitude but I will not. Part of being a shinobi is showing proper respect to everyone you work with may they be teammates, leaders, or senseis, You are acting nothing like a shinobi at the moment. I will give you the choice, do you want to continue the lessons or do you want to go home for the day?"

Naruto grumbled and looked down to the ground. "I'll continue the lessons."

"Good," Yuri said and nodded his head. "It appears that I am going to have to start teaching you from the beginning. The taijutsu I am going to teach you is called Tetsu Sheru. The simplified explanation of it is that it is a defensive taijutsu that creates a shell of awareness around you. When an attack of any sort enters this shell you will be conscious of it and be able to react to it effectively and decisively."

Yuri fell into the starting position for the first kata and instructed Naruto to copy him. It was slow going with the Jonin almost constantly correcting something in the boy's stance, arm placement, or weight distribution but what did impress the black-haired man was that the boy only rarely made the same mistake twice. The blonde had complained about learning a defensive style but Yuri had quickly put him into his place and it was with a weary sigh that he was reminded of how stubborn he could be when he was younger.

After working through the first kata of the Tetsu Sheru a few times, Yuri glanced to the sun and saw that it was time to move on to the next lesson he had planned.

"Alright, Uzumaki-san," he said, "it is time for meditation."

Naruto groaned loudly and Yuri frowned.

"Uzumaki-san," was all the Jonin had to say for the boy to pout and drop to the ground, his legs crossed.

Yuri joined his, sitting across from him, and picked up a leaf from the ground. He handed it to the boy as he began his explanation. "For now, I will be teaching you the first stage of meditation. This is the hardest of the stages and I'm not sure you will be able to do it within six month, Uzumaki-san."

"Ha," the boy said, raising to the challenge. "I'll do it way faster than that."

The Jonin smirked. The boy certainly was easy to motivate. "Calm yourself, Uzumaki-san. With you being this driven, I have no doubt that you will be able to pull it off. The first stage to proper meditation is to systematically block out different stimulations. The goal of this exercise is to get to a point where you think and feel nothing. It is an ultimate state of concentration. This is why I will have you start with the leaf concentration exercise and we will slowly remove the leaf so that you can eventually do it without aid."

Naruto nodded and place the leaf on his forehead. It fell soon after.

"Perhaps," Yuri said with a smirk on his face, "we should work on relaxing before we add the leaf. The first thing that you want to do is to quiet your mind. This can be done by focused breathing and that is what you will learn today. Later you will learn to block out different stimulations until you are in a state of nothing. When you reach that point you will be ready for the second stage of the training. For now though, we will focus on breathing."

The hour of meditation was the longest hour of Yuri's life as his blonde double would complain about boredom or just plain impatience after only a few minutes. He growled mentally at the thought of working with Naruto during meditation again and vowed to make a clone do it the next day. He glanced to his left and saw one of his clones appear with Shikamaru in tow. Soon others began to emerge from the different places that they had wandered off to and Yuri stood when his entire class was gathered. His clones disappeared and he frowned at some of the memories that entered his mind.

He looked to Ino and said, "Yes, it is perfectly possible to transfer knowledge from a clone to the original. Also, very good on the meditation exercise. I am not surprised that you took to it very well considering your families jutsus and all."

Ino blushed slightly and stepped over to Sakura.

Yuri looked to the rest of the group and said, "We will now be working on chakra control. Chakra control appears as many different things the most common of which are the hand signs that a shinobi does when using a jutsu and the saying of the jutsu's name. Each of these are an example of the attempt to control and manipulate your chakra but there is another way to increase your control as well. The first stage is the leaf concentration exercise but it has a very small effect on the amount of control is gives you. It is the second stage that truly makes a difference."

The Jonin started to walk toward a nearby tree and continued, "The second stage is called the tree climbing exercise. By the end of this year each of you will have mastered this and the next stage in chakra control." He reached the tree and started to walk up it, much to the amazement of his students. "This exercise is done by focusing on pushing out chakra from your feet. If you push out to little you will not stick to the surface and if you use too much you will push yourself off. I have this exercise immediately after meditation because you must remain calm while working on this exercise. If you get mad and frustrated the you will only make it harder for you to control your chakra. Please, pick a tree and begin practicing."

His students did as they were told and soon enough they were each attempting to climb their individual trees.

"Yatta!" a voice yelled and Yuri wasn't surprised to see that Sakura managed to climb the tree in one of her first tries.

He walked over to her tree and waved for her to come down. She jumped from the branch and landed next to him.

"Did you see, Yuri-sensei? I did it!" she exclaimed loudly.

Yuri smiled. "Very good, Haruno-san," he said. "You have exceptional control of your chakra to be able to climb the tree this fast. However this also means something else."

"What's that?"

"It means that you have very little chakra," he said. "This isn't a bad thing or a good thing, it is how it is. Now, in an effort to increase your chakra stores, I would like you to walk up and down the tree until you need to take a break. While on your break you can help me instruct your peers."

The pinkette nodded happily and returned to her tree. Over the course of the hour, several others also completed the exercise. Shikamaru did it after his third try, which took him fifteen minutes to get to as was his lazy nature, and both Ino and Hinata did it, both their families requiring precise chakra control for their family styles.

The lecture soon came and went and he used the final hour for minor kunai training. By minor, he meant that he and two of his clones chased after the kids as they tossed kunai and shuriken as them. The kids chucked them back as best they could. The training was for his students to increase their accuracy and to spot ambushes. He chuckled several times at the terrified faces his students made when he would appear behind them.

He dismissed the class and was only slightly disappointed that none stayed behind for additional training. He wrote some notes on the day and reviewed his memories. All in all, it was a good day and if his students showed up every day then they would be well on their way to becoming strong Genin. He sighed when he went over the one-on-one training sessions and the memories that they brought up. Having three years to come to terms that this wasn't his timeline and that these were not the same people he called friends had done little to dampen the emotional turmoil that being with them had put him through. He rubbed his head, banishing the memories that threatened to return. It would become easier, over time.

**-We Are Shinobi-**

Naruto sat on his balcony, a happy smile on his face as he looked over what little of Konoha he could see. He had to admit, this first day of class had been nothing like any of his previous years and for once he felt like he was learning things that would help him become a good shinobi. Sure, he may not have liked his know-it-all sensei all that much but the guy knew how to train as Naruto had never been this tired in his life.

"Hey, Naruto," a familiar voice said and Naruto looked over his shoulder to see Mizuki standing on the wall next to him. He would have been really impressed if Yuri-teme hadn't shown them the exact same thing earlier that day.

"Mizuki-sensei," Naruto said happily. The words Yuri-teme had used to describe the style of taijutsu that Mizuki had taught Naruto entered his thoughts and he had to admit that the new style did feel a lot more natural than the complicated one that Mizuki had taught him. He shook his head and pushed the thoughts out of his mind. Mizuki had always nice to him, why would he teach him something that was on purposely wrong?

"I have a surprise for you," Mizuki said.

Naruto tilted his head.

"I talked with the Hokage and we have decided to give you a very special test."

**-We Are Shinobi-**

Naruto breathed heavily as he charged through the forest. He could hear the clanging of metal on metal and he knew that Iruka was fighting desperately to protect him. It had all been a trap and him, being the stupid idiot that he was, fell right into it. There was no extra test, Mizuki had used him to get the Forbidden Scroll so that he could take it out of the village. He mentioned a man named, Orochimaru, but it meant nothing to him. However, the other shinobi who had appeared next to Mizuki did mean something. Whoever this Orochimaru was, he really wanted the scroll that the blonde clutched to his chest.

The revelation that he held the Kyuubi inside him, that he was the Kyuubi, had also rocked his world. Everything he had thought he knew had changed and the hatred that many people in the village showed him suddenly made perfect sense. He was the one responsible for all those death, all that pain, and he deserved to be hated.

He scampered into a clearing and was sent flying when something exploded next to him. He hit a tree and dropped to the ground, the scroll rolling a short ways from him. Pushing himself up, he saw Iruka come dashing out of the forest. He managed to get to Naruto before dropping to a knee.

Naruto felt his breath catch in this throat when he got a good look at the man. Iruka, one of the few people in the town who liked him, was covered in blood and wounds and the blond knew that they were the result of the man protecting his cowardice retreat. Iruka tensed and turned around, a protective hand placed onto Naruto's shoulder.

Mizuki and three others were standing in the clearing. The other three shinobi wore the exact same grey pants, shirts, and black masks and stood behind Mizuki, signifying him as being the leader of the group.

"Naruto," Iruka said. "You have to run. You have to survive. They cannot get that scroll."

The blonde looked to the man who he viewed as family and whispered, "What about you?"

"I'll hold them off," the Academy sensei said with a grim look on his face.

Naruto shook his head. "No," he said and pushed the man's hand off of him. "You can't. I won't let you do that. Not for me. I'm the K-"

"You are a normal boy with a heavy burden," the brown-haired Chunin said sternly. "You are not the Kyubi, Naruto, no matter what Mizuki or any one says. You are Naruto Uzumaki, and you are going to be Hokage someday."

The jinchuuriki nodded slowly, worlds unable to leave his mouth due to the emotions that threatened to strangle his throat.

"You know," Mizuki said, his voice carrying over the quiet night air, "I was planning on killing the demon first but I think I'll start with you now, Iruka."

Naruto tensed. He stood slowly and placed his fingers into crossing one-handed tiger seals. "If you touch him, I'll kill you! Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he yelled and was rewarded with hundreds of clones appearing around him and in the nearby trees. The clones, as if set of by an invisible signal, attacked at once.

However, instead of his clones beating the four enemy shinobi up, the blonde watched in mute horror they obliterated his mass amount of shadow clones that he had called up in his moment of desperation. The clones did manage to get some good shots and even cut them a few times with their kunai but nothing that was too serious.

Mizuki dispatched the final clone and turned his eyes on the real Naruto. His breathing was labored and a small trial of blood leaked down his leg. It seemed that at some point in the brawl one of Naruto's clones had ripped off the cloth of his right leg just below the knee and the man took a shaky step.

"Naurto, run!" Iruka yelled as he through a kunai into the air. An explosion light the sky a second later. "See that, Mizuki? ANBU will be here any moment. It's over."

Mizuki chuckled. "That's where you're wrong, Iruka. When the ANBU arrive my allies will be long gone. I'll tell the ABU about how an academy sensei and a student stole the Forbidden Scroll and how I was forced to put both of them down. Corpses can't speak and there will be none to question me."

Iruka's eyes widened and he turned to Naruto who hadn't moved from his spot next to his favorite sensei. "Naruto, you have to run."

"No," Naruto growled. "You're my friend, Iruka-sensei, I-I won't leave you to die. Besides," he thumbed his nose and a large grin spread over his face, "we can handle them."

"You think so?" Mizuki questioned and rushed the two without warning.

Iruka threw a kunai at the man but it was dodged with little effort. Naruto charged, as befitting his nature, and learned just how much he had underestimated his opponent when he barely managed to duck under the slash of a kunai. He stumbled back when Mizuki stabbed at him and he fell onto his back. Mizuki neared him and he worked as hard as he could to back away from the man.

"Mizuki!" Iruka bellowed which changed into a wet cough.

"I want you to watch," Mizuki said. "I want you to watch the life leave the demon's eyes. I want you to watch knowing that there is nothing you can do."

"Naruto! Run!" Iruka called out desperately as he attempted to stand again.

Naruto glanced at Iruka and then back at Mizuki. He could try rushing the man again but he had the feeling that it would only result in an earlier death. He could run, doing as Iruka-sensei was telling him to do but the very thought of doing such a thing left a sour taste in his mouth.

"Prepare to die!" Mizuki screamed manically and plunged a kunai down toward Naruto.

Naruto closed his eyes, waiting for the pain of the kunai to bite into his flesh but it never came. Instead, strong arms snatched him and pulled him out of danger. He felt the arms toss him lightly and he opened his eyes in time to land safely next to Iruka. He glanced back and saw Yuri Karasu facing off against the four enemy shinobi. He only took his eyes away when Iruka wrapped a protective arm around him, his eyes set in a stern gaze.

Naruto looked back to the his newest sensei and felt a sense of dread come over him. Iruka hadn't stood a chance against all four of them at once, so what chance did Yuri have? The man stood in a relaxed stance that the blonde noticed resembled the first stance of the Tetsu Sheru.

After a moment of silence Yuri said, "Mizuki Toji. How long have you and Orochimaru been planning this attempt?"

The ex-Academy sensei smirked and replied arrogantly, "Oh, this was a spur of the moment thing. I tricked that little idiot into stealing the Forbidden Scroll during the confusion my compatriots were making. You see, they have been in Konoha for some time, gathering information for Orochimaru-sama and the time limit for their mission has come to an end. I figured that, if I was leaving the village anyways, why not trick the demon into doing something that is punishable by death. If he got caught he would be executed as a traitor to Konoha and if he succeeded than I would kill him myself and take the scroll to Orochimaru-sama as a demonstration of good grace."

"Clearly," the black-haired Jonin said, "you have been working with Orochimaru for some time. Why reveal all this information to me?"

The white-haired chunin smiled evilly. "Because you won't be alive much longer."

The three shinobi with Mizuki attacked Yuri so fast that Naruto didn't have time to call out a warning. However, Naruto came to learn that it would have been completely unneeded.

Yuri waited for three shinobi to attack and the moment they did he unleashed a counter attack. A spike of rock shot up from the ground and pierced one of the charging shinobi and the first one to meet the Jonin in combat was rewarded with a punch in the throat. Naruto watch, his eyes wide at the display of brutality, as the shinobi clutched his neck and sank to the ground. Gagging and strangled breaths could be heard coming from the man.

A look of shock came over Mizuki and the third shinobi ran into the forest, only to be sent flying back in. A clone of Yuri stepped out from where the shinobi came from and proceeded to tie the man up.

Yuri took a confident step forward and said, "Did you really think a team solely specializing in infiltration could defeat a combat shinobi?"

Before anything else could happen several ANBU appeared behind Mizuki and the man was restrained in seconds. To the side, Naruto saw the Hokage appear with another team of ANBU at his side.

"ANBU," Hiruzen commanded in a voice that Naruto had never heard the old man use before, "take the traitor Mizuki and his allies into custody. Bring Iruka-san and Naruto-san to the hospital immediately."

The ANBU jumped into action and soon Mizuki, the two living enemy shinobi, and Iruka were taken from the clearing. Naruto struggled when an ANBU made to take him away.

"I'm fine," he hollered and ducked under the cat mask wearing ANBU's reaching hands. "I don't need to go to the hospital."

Hiruzen sighed and waved his hand. "Leave him, Cat," he said. "I'll take Naruto-kun to the hospital myself."

Cat bowed and vanished from sight.

Naruto saw the old man nod and start to walk over to him. He felt his face start to heat up and he said, "I'm sorry, Jiji. I tried to beat him but-" He stopped and felt his words catch in his throat. Kami, he was so embarrassed. He had failed to defeat Mizuki and protect Iruka-sensei and he had failed Jiji when he allowed himself to be tricked into getting involved in this fiasco in the first place. He flinched slightly when the old man kneeled in front of him and looked down to the ground.

"Look at me, Naruto-kun" Hiruzen ordered.

Naruto hesitated but finally looked up at one of the few men he respected in the whole of Konoha, one of the many he had failed, and was shocked to see a smile on the man's wrinkled face. His eyes seemed to beam with some emotion that Naruto hadn't seen before and he was taken by surprise when he was wrapped into a bear hug.

"I am so proud of you. Naruto-kun," the old man said with an emotion filled voice.

Confusion tore into Naruto's mind and he took a step back when the old man relaxed his hug. "Why?" he asked quietly and his heavy emotions caused him to stutter. "I didn't do anything, Jiji. How could you be proud of me when all I did was fail you?"

"Fail me?" Hiruzen asked aloud. "Naruto-kun, you brought a traitor to light, protected the Forbidden Scroll, fought against an opponent who was vastly stronger than you for the sake of saving a friend and comrade, learned a jutsu that would take most many months, and didn't abandon the battle to save yourself. You displayed a courage that is only rarely seen and you showed a will that burns beyond imagining. You didn't fail me, you showed me what it meant to be a shinobi of Konoha."

"Does that mean that I can become a Genin?" the blonde questioned, hope rising in his heart.

The old man smiled. "I have a feeling that you will pass with flying colors with year, Naruto-kun. You have the determination and one of the best sensei in Konoha."

Naruto frowned but accepted the answer. He looked around to find his new sensei and found the man kneeling next to the body of the enemy shinobi. He must have pulled it from the spike of rock because the body was now laying next to it. If he was telling the truth, he was slightly afraid and impressed by the display of power Yuri had demonstrated and it caused a new respect to form for the man. Maybe, just maybe, he would give the man a chance.

**-We Are Shinobi-**

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-Unbiased Abyss


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